explosions (no second choices)
by nirky
Summary: It starts like this: Alex meets Lucy when they're just Lucy and Alex, no complicated alien conspiracies, no opposing sides in moral debates and no professional clashes. It doesn't end there.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I got a few prompts for this pairing on tumblr so I decided to put them together in a fic. many thanks to Leanne for the beta!

* * *

Having a sister who is an alien is something Alex Danvers had long ago gotten used to. Having a sister who is Supergirl, however, is new. She knows it's almost hypocritical of her to worry for Kara's safety considering her line of work, but she can't help it. Worrying for Kara, putting her needs ahead of her own, is something that became natural as the years passed by, after she'd lost her father and his desire to have her protect Kara started being at the forefront of her life's purposes.

So yeah, Alex worries, and it doesn't help that Kara is not used to fully using her powers and therefore spends most of her time as Supergirl looking like an adorable heroic alien toddler trying to help. She mostly succeeds but Alex's heart takes a lot of blows while she's at it.

That's why Alex finds herself at a bar on a Thursday night, after Kara had awkwardly found her way into a victory against Reactron. She's alone, she's worked up from the stress of the day, she needs a drink…

… and she needs to get laid.

This isn't her kind of place, she thinks as she sets foot inside the door. A little fancy, a lot yuppie, but it's close enough to her apartment that she'll be able to wear the alcohol off by walking home in the fresh air of the evening. The patrons are mostly male, in their late twenties and thirties, a few over forty, wearing suits or button-up shirts with expensive-looking cufflinks. Some of them turn to appraise her, shamelessly giving her the once-over like they are a desirable piece of ass. They aren't. Alex makes a point of glaring at them as she passes through the swirl of warm bodies towards the counter.

She glances at the menu, rolling her eyes when she notes the thirty-dollar cocktails and eleven-dollar pints of beer. Overpriced, as everything aimed at entitled white men is, but Alex never spends any money and she can't be bothered to look up another bar.

"Two shots of whiskey," she asks the barmaid who nods her way. They're both gone in under twenty seconds and the barmaid lifts one perfectly sculpted eyebrow with a smirk, pouring two more. Alex laughs. "That's enough whiskey shots for the night, thanks."

"As you wish."

Alex grins, uncertain if she'd just been served with a _The Princess Bride_ quote, and offers the fourth shot back to the barmaid, "Drink with me…?" She drawls the last word, trying to get a name.

"Sara," the barmaid concedes, eyes glinting, and they clink their shot glasses together before gulping them down. "How else may I be of help?"

Alex doesn't think "come to my house and let me fuck you" counts as appropriate help so she orders a rum and coke, their fingers brushing during the exchange, and observes Sara doing her job. She's competent. Fast and flirty, brushing off unwanted attention with diplomacy and a smile.

A man stands next to Alex and tries to make conversation. She indulges him until he makes a joke she couldn't pretend is funny in any known universe, shifting so her back is to him and she's facing the bar.

That's when she sees _her_.

There isn't anything men can do or say that makes Alex happier than when she spots a woman across the room – any room, any situation, – they lock eyes with each other, and the woman _smiles_. It's a small moment of appreciation and maybe it's the fact that they're two of the few women present, or it's the alcohol already talking, but Alex smiles back and does a waving motion that could be interpreted as an invitation to come over.

Vaguely. If one really squints.

The woman seems to get it though, if her approaching the counter and standing close to Alex is any indication. "Hi," she greets, extending her hand. "I'm Lucy."

One good thing about this place is that the music is loud enough to be immersive and low enough it's still possible to talk. Alex shakes her hand with a bashful smile she's not sure where it came from, "Alex. Nice to meet you." She signs for Sara and the barmaid comes, a knowing grin dancing on her lips. Alex has to swallow the urge to say _shut up_. "What are you having?"

"A tall glass of red wine, please," Lucy asks, sitting on the bar stool. Curiously, it's the only way she can be at eye-level with Alex, whose legs are starting to complain about the unnecessarily prolonged time standing still. "Do you have _Merlot_?"

"Of course," Sara replies, playful, and disappears for a minute, returning with an elegant long glass of wine. "Enjoy your drinks, ladies."

Alex feels a little under-dressed and somewhat out-classed by Lucy, whose make-up is both stunning and applied so masterfully Alex wonders if she's a make-up artist. Is she wearing foundation and blush? Or she just applied eyeliner and eyeshadow – which are making those gorgeous green eyes stand out? Red lipstick is also playing it a bit unfairly so Alex takes a swig of her drink to keep from staring and schools herself into acting like a normal human being who can establish communication with extremely attractive women.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Lucy starts, with a small smile. "I arrived to the city today and I didn't want to spend the entire evening alone at my Airbnb."

What goes unsaid is how she also didn't want to spend her time being approached by men trying to charm their way into her pants. Or skirt, rather. Alex can sympathize.

"Work?"

"Personal matters," Lucy corrects, taking a sip. "I'm not sure yet how long I'll stay."

Alex hums in response, searching for something to say. Lucy is distracting, with her curls barely kissing her shoulders and the necklace that ends right where her cleavage begins. She shakes her head, trying not to stare, and focuses on Lucy's eyes.

Which are also distracting as hell, damn it.

"Uh." Alex grabs her drink to occupy her hands and to have an excuse to look somewhere else. "So where are you from, exactly?"

"Metropolis."

"Superman's town," Alex jokes, facing Lucy again. She notices a flicker of hurt in her expression, which is surprising and is what compels her to add, "We have one of those now too."

Lucy chuckles, and just like that, the mood is set.

~~.~~

It starts like this:

Lucy rambles about her work, her hands moving about in a language of their own, her eyes sparkling with passion and excitement. Alex can see she's nervous and that's why she keeps talking, but she can't fathom _why_ that is.

Of course the right thing to do in the face of a nervous woman is to listen like the rest of the world no longer matters, to lean forward with every new story and to smile as if nothing more fascinating has ever been said.

It helps that Lucy is gentle and thoughtful, and keeps giving Alex opportunities to share more about herself.

(Alex wishes she didn't have to lie.)

~~.~~

It goes like this:

Alex is relaxed and warm, nurturing her second rum and coke, and Lucy is now comfortable in their dynamic. Sometimes she touches Alex's forearm, other times she squeezes her shoulder, and when she gets to her third glass of wine, she allows her fingers to linger on Alex's wrist, her thumb tracing circles so light Alex wonders if the alcohol is making her feel things.

Alex takes a miniscule step to the side and they are now so close they could whisper to each other, share secrets for no one else to hear.

Lucy mentions an overly demanding father and a sister so accomplished she couldn't ever compare – Lucy, who is a lawyer, who is eloquent, witty, bright, and impossibly beautiful, – and something inside Alex softens, something inside her travels to her chest and wraps her heart around in tenderness.

She turns her hand upwards, her fingers hooking with Lucy's, and now her thumb is the one tracing a path on Lucy's knuckles.

Never feeling good enough – barely feeling _enough_ – is something Alex understands.

~~.~~

It continues like this:

They're both on the tipsy side of drunk as they stumble out the bar, laughing and too absorbed in each other as they walk in the same direction, Lucy's arm tucked in Alex's.

Alex knows how she wants the night to end but she doesn't dare ask, she just stops when they reach the intersection, shoves her hands into her pockets and bites her bottom lip. She doesn't dare ask, but her eyes are filled with hope when she looks at Lucy, the corner of her mouth turning upward.

Lucy stares for a moment too long, running her pink tongue over her lips, and hooks a finger inside the waistband of Alex's jeans, "Let's go to my place."

Alex doesn't need to be told twice.

~~.~~

It goes like this:

They don't even make it to the bedroom. They're kissing and opening shirts as soon as they get into the elevator and once they're inside the apartment, there's a table _right there_ and Alex pulls Lucy's skirt up to her hips, picks her up and sits her on the table, settling herself between Lucy's legs as she takes off her own jeans.

Lucy gets rid of Alex's shirt and nips at her collarbones, hands sliding down her back to rest on her ass. Alex gets the hint and Lucy's panties are gone in under a minute, thrown haphazardly to the floor.

Alex rests her forehead against Lucy's, and in the moment their eyes meet, Alex touches Lucy's center, one finger skimming through her folds. Lucy gasps and Alex slips two fingers inside.

There's something about touching a woman's core, feeling the wet heat around her fingers, that makes Alex feel like she's coming home.

Lucy arches her back and rolls her hips and yeah, okay, if that's how she's playing it, Alex can go deeper and faster.

So she does and Lucy, well, Lucy _talks_.

Lucy tells her she's fucking her real good and tells her she's so hot and whispers dirty nothings in her ear, full of reverence and praise, and Alex will be damned if she's pushed over the edge before she gets Lucy there.

She kneels on the floor and brings her mouth to Lucy's clit, sucking as she keeps pushing her fingers inside, curling them to reach the G spot, and she doesn't stop until Lucy comes, silent at last, one hand grabbing Alex's hair, the other gripping the table.

Alex kisses the inside of her thighs and slowly stands up, peppering Lucy's stomach with feather light kisses before holding her wrist, "Bedroom?"

Lucy smirks, discards her skirt as she moves down from the table, and leads the way.

~~.~~

It ends like this:

When Alex wakes up the next morning, sunlight hitting her face, it's 6:14 and she isn't nursing a hangover. Lucy is next to her, naked body half-exposed from Alex's habit of hogging the blankets. She looks peaceful and Alex smiles, covering her before getting up.

She can't believe she'd pretty much passed out after sex, no concern for personal boundaries and alarm clocks. She can't believe Lucy had just fallen asleep either. Guess alcohol and drunken-yet-good sex will do that to people.

Alex puts her underwear on, grabs her shirt from the floor by the dining table, and heads for the kitchen. There has to be coffee in this place.

There is, and Lucy seems to have bought groceries for at least a week because the cupboards are packed, so Alex decides she might as well have breakfast. Too bad she makes a loud mess while preparing it and she's cursing under her breath when she hears a soft, "Hi."

Alex turns to find Lucy leaning against the door frame, rubbing sleep from her eyes with the heel of her hand. She's wearing an over-sized white shirt that reads "nobody's perfect" and Alex grins, amused that Lucy had picked _that_ as her travelling sleepwear.

"Good morning," Alex says, grabbing a mug. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Two brown sugars, please," Lucy replies, sitting at the kitchen table. "I see you've made breakfast."

"Technically, I just grabbed all the breakfast food I could find and set it on the table," she amends, blushing despite herself. "I figured you deserved a treat for letting me stay over even though I live like, literally two blocks away from here." It's Lucy's turn to blush but she takes the mug Alex is handing her without breaking eye contact. "Don't worry, I'll be on my way soon. I want to shower before work."

Lucy blushes again, a furious red tinting her cheeks, and Alex doesn't understand what's getting her so flustered until Lucy bites her lip and looks up at her from under lashes so thick and long they should be a sin, "I might have better plans for that shower."

~~.~~

They never finish the coffee.

~~.~~

(and, as it turns out, it isn't the end after all.)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** thank you to the lovely soul who commented on the last chapter, you made me smile! (I do recomment you read this on AO3 though, as at least that website allows me to keep my desired format _and_ lets me add graphics ~sigh) thanks to Sophie for the beta also!

* * *

The next time Alex sees Lucy, they're in a secure location in the middle of the desert.

It isn't, of course, the first time since The Hot Drunken Night™ that Alex has thought of Lucy. Some flashbacks of the evening come to her whenever she starts spacing out in boring meetings and she would be lying if she said she hadn't given herself some solo happy endings inspired by that night. In retrospect, Alex realizes, staring wide-eyed at Major Lane, this also isn't the first time that she has heard of Lucy, considering Kara has been going on and on about Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's sister extraordinaire and James's ex-turned-girlfriend-again-as-of-three-days-ago who had arrived in Metropolis a week before.

Alex should have put two and two together. She really really _really_ should have.

Lucy takes one look at her and her face becomes as flushed as a tomato. She focuses on Supergirl to a stubborn degree, and - sure, being in the presence of a superheroine is awesome -, but that amount of staring comes across as a bit rude.

Kara shifts nervously next to Alex, her discomfort with Lucy Lane's presence being due to different and less embarrassing reasons, and Alex has to make a monumental effort not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

And who wears heels in the desert anyway?

* * *

Alex finds Lucy in the DEO's break room, after the very public and humiliating firing of Dr. Morrow. She doesn't do it on purpose; she just needs a coffee and Lucy is already there, getting a coffee. Alex has half a mind to turn around and leave before her presence is noticed, but a little fun never hurt anybody.

She wants to ask Lucy if they'd fucked before or after she had tried to get back together with James but there's no way Alex would be privy to that information without potentially compromising Kara's secret identity so she goes for the next best thing.

"I much prefer oversized shirts and no pants as a uniform."

Lucy jumps and turns to glare at her.

"Relax," Alex says, approaching the counter. "There's no one here."

"How do you even make coffee in this machine?" Lucy mumbles, keeping a safe distance.

"Here." Alex takes over from where Lucy is pushing random buttons of a machine which is presently very much devoid of water. It's a mere coincidence that she seems to forget the concept of personal space as she does so. Of course.

"Can't make coffee from air," she comments, filling up the container with tap water.

Lucy is all flustered and Alex doesn't know if it's her presence or if it's the fact that Lucy hadn't been able to handle a coffee machine on her own. Maybe it's both. Either way, it _is_ cute.

The silence stretches on, not entirely unpleasant to Alex who's keeping her hands occupied.

"I'm seeing someone," Lucy confesses after a while, and Alex glances at her, doesn't stop what she's doing.

"That's okay." Alex gives her a small smile, not wanting to wonder about what's tugging at her chest, and extends a paper cup to Lucy. "Two brown sugars."

Lucy smiles back.

Maybe it doesn't have to be awkward.

* * *

It is kind of awkward.

Major Lane is no longer. Instead she is now hotshot CatCo lawyer Lucy Lane, which means that Lucy has decided to stay in National City. That would be all fine and dandy since Alex barely ever sets foot at Kara's workplace, but nothing is ever easy.

Lucy is now a recurring guest in Kara's beloved game nights – which happen every Friday –, and Alex doesn't know who's more uncomfortable through the whole thing; whether it's Lucy, on the rare occasion she's left alone with Alex; or Kara, who keeps stealing glances at James like the puppy in love that she is; or James, who is clearly torn between his feelings for Kara and his feelings and loyalty to Lucy.

Winn, unsurprisingly, is oblivious to it all. Alex likes to think she's doing pretty well in the staying-blissfully-free-of-embarrassments department.

That is, until tonight happens. It's the third game night with Lucy present.

That's not the problem.

The problem is that Lucy has decided to play host this time and, if the address sent to the group chat is any indication, she's still staying at that one bedroom Airbnb apartment where they had had sex. Lots and lots of sex. Sex Alex very definitely hasn't forgotten and doesn't need reminders of.

She tries to escape attending the event, claims she's too tired and in need of a long night of sleep. Lucy seems relieved at the prospect, if an ' _oh ok_ ' followed by that emoji of a monkey covering its eyes is any indication.

Too bad Kara doesn't seem to be willing to let Alex off the hook.

 **Puppy Sis [11:39]** _Alex, don't you dare leave me alone for games night!_

 **Puppy Sis [11:39]** _Lucy lives two blocks from you, you can literally step out of her apartment and fall into bed!_

 **Puppy Sis [11:48]** _I can fly you around so your levels of exhaustion are minimal :)))_

 **Puppy Sis [11:56]** _Please? I'll bring wine._

 **Olderz Danverz [12:25]** _Fine._

 **Olderz Danverz [12:26]** _Make it two bottles though._

She really needs to learn how to say no to her sister.

* * *

Alex has already downed a glass of wine and she's only been inside Lucy's place for five minutes. She'd gone straight to the kitchen with her two bottles in hand, forgetting everything about coming across as stealthy and inconspicuous and as someone who has definitely never been to this apartment before. She had poured a glass and finished it in three minutes. Then she had taken two extra minutes to gather a respectable number of glasses to share with the group and give herself a pep talk about how she is a grown woman and there's nothing abnormal in returning to a place where she'd had a best-kept-secret night of sex with someone who was her sister's co-worker and current romantic nemesis.

Right.

"Alex!" Kara sort of squeals as soon as she appears on the room's threshold. "We're starting with _Catan_ , come on."

 _Oh no no no no no._

"No," Alex says, not realizing she'd spoken out loud.

"No?" Winn asks, staring at her with furrowed brows. "I thought _Catan_ was your favorite?"

"Uh, I guess –" she stutters, expression pained as she sees the board already set on the table. "I guess I'm more in a charades mood tonight." Alex is pretty sure she's looking at the couch with longing and despair because at least the couch doesn't bring any memories to mind.

"We can play that next," James offers, taking a seat next to Lucy who's at the head of the table. Alex decides to sit on Lucy's other side. It's probably a good idea if she's not facing her head-on.

~~.~~

It's a pretty bad idea.

The alcohol is buzzing in her system and Alex becomes hyper aware of Lucy next to her. She swears she can even feel the heat radiating from her body and that isn't helping with her sexual frustration.

And because Alex can't catch a break, Lucy decides to shift and now their legs are touching.

"Can this game just end?" she growls, picking up the two lumbers and the ore Winn's roll of a 5 had given her the right to get.

"What's up with you?" Kara asks, frowning. "You've been acting strange all night."

"I just… don't…" Alex looks around at the concerned faces turned to her. "…want to be sitting at this table," she finishes lamely.

Lucy blushes but only Alex seems to realize that; everyone else is focused on either her or on the game.

"Alex," Kara admonishes her, in that tone she gets when she's the one playing the big sister role. "Your place is lovely, Lucy," she says, obviously attempting to make up for what she perceives as Alex being rude. "Thanks for having us."

"It's my pleasure." Lucy beams as the dice steady on an 8 and Alex rolls her eyes and picks up one brick. "It was an Airbnb place when I found it, but I liked it so much I persuaded the owner to give me a six-month contract."

Alex is convinced that information was added for her sake but it's not like she can share that opinion with anyone so she just takes another sip of her wine.

~~.~~

James wins, courtesy of Longest Road and four Knight cards, and Alex huffs, excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

When she returns, they're all gathered comfortably on the couch, ready to play charades, but Alex thinks she's suffered enough for a day, "I'm sorry, guys, but I think I'm gonna go." Kara shoots her a pleading look and Alex ignores it. Alcohol makes her immune to her sister's wiles. "It's fairer this way: you can have two against two!"

"You're better at Forbidden Words than Kara," Winn whines.

"I'm so tired tonight, I don't think I would be," she argues with a soft smile, "but thank you."

"I'll walk you to the door," Lucy says.

The door is a few feet away and visible from the couch but who is Alex to refuse Lucy's offer?

Alex turns to face her when she gets to the the door and there goes another mistake to add to her already long list for the night. Lucy is giving her that bashful look from under her eyelashes and yeah okay, Alex might have more of a Lucy problem than she'd originally intended.

"Don't worry," Lucy whispers as if she's sharing a secret. Her fingers reach Alex's wrist and lock around it so Alex is forced to pretend she doesn't feel the shiver going up her arm. "I won't host game night again."

Then Lucy honest to god _winks_ and closes the door, leaving a dumbstruck Alex alone in the hallway.

~~.~~

There better not fucking be any more Lucy Lane in any shape or form in her near future.

* * *

 **A/N:** why on earth doesn't ffnet allow more than one exclamation point in a row? Kara's text messages are missing out :(


End file.
